Ahead of a report from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, more than 150 people gathered on the steps of the County Administration Building in Santa Barbara on Tuesday to protest the agency’s communications with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Sheriff’s Office gave its annual report Tuesday to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors about how it does and does not cooperate with ICE under the TRUTH Act, which stands for Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds.
The board room was filled with dozens of activists holding signs criticizing ICE, supporting immigrant rights and calling for the Sheriff’s Office to stop cooperating with the agency.
“I want to make it clear to everyone: The Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies do not enforce federal immigration laws,” Undersheriff Craig Bonner told the board. “We do not ask for or otherwise attempt to ascertain the immigration status of anyone we interact with.”
He added that immigration status does not affect the services provided by the Sheriff’s Office.
Under state law, the Sheriff’s Office is not required to alert ICE when an undocumented migrant is arrested. However, it may alert ICE if the person is accused of specific crimes.
In a report to the board, the Sheriff’s Office said it had received 229 ICE requests for access to people in jail custody in 2024. Out of those requests, the Sheriff’s Office found that 190 did not meet the standards for approval, but 39 were approved, and those inmates were re-arrested at their release from jail.
Access requests increased in 2024 from the previous year. The Sheriff’s Office received 141 requests in 2023 and approved access to 34 inmates.
Bonner also shared that requests for access are increasing, but the number of inmates who qualify and are re-arrested by ICE seems to be trending downward in 2025. A person can be re-arrested only if ICE agents are present at the time of their release from jail custody.
During public comment, speakers asked the board to step in to stop the collaboration between ICE and the Sheriff’s Office.
One of the speakers was Ivan Vega, the associate organizing director for the Santa Barbara branch of Future Leaders of America. In his comments, Vega claimed there are loopholes in the TRUTH Act that allow the Sheriff’s Office to share information and asked the board to protect their community.
“Please follow the examples of other counties in the state, like LA County (and) San Diego County, who have stopped collaborating with ICE. We must work with our values in mind, protecting our families together,” Vega said.
Jacqui Inda from La Casa de la Raza in Santa Barbara asked that the District Attorney’s Office also stop working with the federal agency.
She asked the board to consider establishing a commission for human rights.
“Today, I ask you to really dig down deep to know the value of those students in those schools, in those classrooms, while they panic and they wonder if an uncle, an aunt, a neighbor or their loved one won’t be home when they get home,” Inda said.
The Board of Supervisors voted to accept the report with a 5-0 vote.
